The present invention relates to locknuts, and more particularly to locknuts that include a locking coil.
Locknuts can include a locking coil, such as a spring coil or a spring band, as a locking element. In the tightening direction, the nut creates compression on the locking coil, which causes the coil to loosen its grip on the threaded member to permit relative rotation. In the loosening direction, the nut creates tension on the locking coil, which causes the coil to tighten its grip on the threaded member to prevent unintended relative rotation (i.e. loosening).
Locknuts having locking coils are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,021,093 issued Sep. 20, 2011; U.S. Pat. No. 8,425,168 issued Apr. 23, 2013; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,439,616 issued May 14, 2013, all to Campau, and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/359,942 filed Jan. 27, 2012 by Campau. These locknuts include nut bodies that must be machined, for example to form slots, passages, and notches in the nut body to receive the tangs of the locking coil. Such machining can be difficult, labor-intensive, and expensive.